NEW YORK & BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FC Barcelona, one of the most popular and valuable sports brands in the
world, has appointed Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment (VWSE) as its
exclusive partner to manage worldwide naming rights and sponsorship for
its historic new Espai Barca development project, transforming the
iconic Camp Nou stadium into the biggest and best equipped urban sports
facility in the world.

“For us, Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment represents the complete
guarantee that commercialization of Espai Barca will be a success and
the security that the world market will be analysed within the
parameters and requirements that the club has set at this stage of
transformation,” said Manel Arroyo, FC Barcelona Vice-President of
Marketing and Communication.

The $600 million undertaking, encompassing all of the sports facilities
that FC Barcelona has throughout the city center, will begin in 2017 and
be completed by 2021. The project will convert Camp Nou, the largest
stadium in Europe, into a next-generation venue featuring over 105,000
seats, a partial roof, premium amenities and immersive fan attractions.
Espai Barca also will include a renovated 12,000-seat Palau Blaugrana
Arena, which is home to basketball, roller hockey and futsal teams, as
well as the opening of a sports campus highlighted by a new Palau 2
arena, ice skating rink, social and commercial zones, team offices, a
rejuvenated La Masia training academy and 5,000 additional parking
spaces.

“Espai Barca represents the commitment of FC Barcelona to offer engaging
and innovative commercial formulas to show its partners,” said Jeff
Knapple, VWSE CEO. “It truly is a platform for global partnership that
will integrate new sponsors into a massive and historic regeneration in
the heart of Barcelona and Catalonia, as well as provide a way of
gaining global exposure and access to an incredibly passionate fan base.”

VWSE, a preeminent global sports marketing and media sales organization,
will feature a new European office to manage the momentous project
through the firm’s one-stop consultancy – VWSE Team and Venue Services
Division – led by Senior Vice President Chris Allphin. VWSE experience
includes more than 18 naming rights transactions totaling nearly $3
billion since 1998, including recent deals that saw SunTrust Bank brand
the new stadium being constructed for the Atlanta Braves, and US Bank
atop the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. The firm and its team have been
involved in numerous other naming rights deals for teams, including the
New York Jets and Giants and Arsenal FC.

Richard Schaps, CEO of Van Wagner Group, said: “Our business is built to
meet this type of global challenge. This isn’t about brokering a deal
and moving on to the next – it’s about working with FC Barcelona to
ensure that a rights package can add to the overall fan experience.”

About Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment

Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment LLC (VWSE), a wholly owned subsidiary
of Van Wagner Group LLC, is one of the preeminent sports marketing and
media sales organizations in the world. It is an acknowledged innovator
in property consulting and branding solutions and a global leader in
naming rights, team and venue services, high-impact visible TV signage
throughout the MLB, NBA, NCAA, MLS, and internationally in soccer,
advertising and sponsorships sales, premium ticketing, technology design
and integration, and in-venue content production. VWSE assists teams,
organizations and properties in creating and selling advertising;
sponsorships; and media that maximize revenue potential, and helps
clients develop effective and powerful customized brand campaigns. VWSE
works with more than 300 professional and college teams worldwide.